In 2012, EJI lawyers argued two cases at the Supreme
Court: Miller v. Alabama and Jackson v. Hobbs. Evan
Miller and Kuntrell Jackson were among hundreds of children condemned to die in prison by judges who were required to impose mandatory life-without-parole
sentences, without considering the child’s age or circumstances.
On June 25, 2012, the Supreme Court ruled in Miller v.
Alabama that mandatory life-without-parole sentences
for all children 17 and younger convicted of homicide are
unconstitutional. The Court wrote that sentencers must
consider children’s diminished culpability and their
“heightened capacity for change,” which should make
death-in-prison sentences “uncommon.”
1. The Court in Graham held that non-homicide offenders must have a “meaningful oppotunity for release.”
What does that mean?
2. What factors must a judge consider under Miller before deciding what sentence to impose?
3. Does Miller require new sentencing hearings for all
juveniles sentenced to die in prison? Why or why
not?
4. What alternative sentences should be available for
juvenile offenders? Have state laws changed in response to Miller, and if so, how?
5. Should the Court ban all life-without-parole sentences for all children, regardless of the crime? Why
or why not?
Questions for Further Discussion
1. Does the criminal justice system focus more on rehabilitation or punishment? What should be the
focus for juveniles in the criminal justice system?
What is the primary objective of incarceration?
Should it be different for children?
2. Supporters of sentencing children to life without pa-
Cruel and Unusual:
Sentencing 13- and 14-Year-Old Children to
Die in Prison
Across the United States, thousands of children
have been prosecuted as adults and sent to
adult prisons. EJI is working to end the adult
prosecution of any child under the age of 14;
to end the placement of any juvenile under age
18 in an adult jail or prison; and to abolish life
imprisonment without parole and other excessive sentences imposed on children.
DISCUSSION GUIDE
The Court’s decision in Graham recognized that children
“are more capable of change than adults, and their actions are less likely to be evidence of ‘irretrievably depraved character’ than are the actions of adults. It
remains true that ‘[f]rom a moral standpoint it would be
misguided to equate the failings of a minor with those
of an adult, for a greater possibility exists that a minor’s
character deficiiencies will be reformed.’”
EJI’s Bryan Stevenson after arguing at the U.S. Supreme Court
role argue that some children deserve to spend the
rest of their lives in prison. Do you agree? Why or
why not?
3. How does Roper v. Simmons apply to life-without-parole sentences for juveniles?
4. What challenges does growing up in a poor, violent
neighborhood present for children? What role
should these factors play in a sentencing decision?
5. Mandatory sentencing was proposed as a way to ensure fairness in sentencing, but studies show that disparities in sentencing persist. Why is that? What
changes would you recommend to make sentencing
more fair and equitable?
6. What does America’s treatment of children in the
criminal justice system reveal about our nation’s values?
7. The majority of children sentenced to life without parole are youth of color. What does this racial disparity
reveal about the system and about our society?
What role does racism play in the criminal justice system and how does that impact the lives of children?
8. Many of the laws that expose children to life-without-parole sentences were fueled by the “politics of
fear and anger.” How do fear and anger affect criminal justice policies, and what can be done to change
that?
9. “Each of us is more than the worse thing we’ve ever
done.” What does this mean for the criminal justice
system? How does it impact the way children should
be treated when they are accused of a crime?
10. Has the media’s portrayal of children of color who
are accused of crimes changed over the years? How
does it influence our perception of children of color
and of appropriate sentences for children?
ated with impulse control, regulation of emotions, risk assessment, and moral reasoning.
The neurological development most critical to
making good judgments, moral and ethical decisionmaking, and controlling impulsive behavior is incomplete during adolescence.
The United States Supreme Court has recognized these differences between juvenile and
On any given day in America, 10,000 children adult offenders and concluded that children
are housed in adult jails and prisons. Children have “insufficient culpability” to merit the most
as young as ten are exposed to prosecution in severe punishment. Because children are more
adult courts. More than 3000 juveniles - some vulnerable to stress and peer pressure, lack the
as young as 13 years old - have been sentenced adult ability to resist impulses and risk-taking
to life imprisonment without the possibility of behavior, and have an inherent capacity to
parole.
change and reform as they grow up, the Court
determined that “junvenile offenders cannot
The United States is the only country in the with reliability be classified among the worst
world that sentences children to die in prison. offenders.”
In Cruel and Unusual, EJI identified 73 cases
nationwide in which a sentence of life without
parole was imposed on a child who was 13 or
14 years old at the time of the offense. Most of
these sentences were mandatory: the court
could not consider the child’s age or life history.
EJI believes these harsh sentences for children
are cruel and unusual in violation of the Eighth
Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Young Children Are Different
Young teenagers in most states cannot get married without permission or obtain a driver’s license. The law mandates that they must attend
school and limits the hours they can work.
The law treats young adolescents differently
because they are different. Scientists have
found that adolescents’ brains are anatomically
undeveloped in parts of the cerebrum associ© 2016 Equal Justice Initiative. All rights reserved. This Discussion Guide accompanies EJI’s report and
film, Cruel and Unusual. For copies of the video or report, additional copies of this guide, or a
complete catalog of educational materials available from EJI, please contact us.
122 Commerce Street = Montgomery, Alabama 36104 = 334.269.1803 = [email protected] = www.eji.org
1. What laws treat teens differently from adults?
2. Why does the law distinguish children from adults?
3. What are some examples of the ways in which young
teens behave differently than adults?
sexually abused, neglected, and abandoned; their parents are prostitutes, drug addicts, alcoholics, and crack
dealers; they grew up in lethally violent, extremely poor
areas where health and safety were luxuries their families could not afford. Their crimes tend to occur in the
midst of crisis, often resulting from desperate, misguided
attempts to protect themselves.
Underage Prosecution of Children
1. How does trauma, abuse, and neglect impact a
child’s development?
2. How should a child’s background be taken into account when he is accused of a crime?
The law protects children under 14 except when they are
accused of a crime. Over the last 25 years, very young
children increasingly have been prosecuted as adults and
subjected to harsh adult sentences. Children as young as
eight have been prosecuted as adults. EJI believes that
no child under age 14 should be prosecuted as an adult
for any crime.
Children of color are disproportionately sentenced to
die in prison. The majority of children tried as adults in
America are children of color. Of the 73 cases EJI identified involving 13- and 14-year-old children who had been
sentenced to die in prison, nearly half (49 percent) were
African American. All of the children sentenced to die in
prison for non-homicide crimes were children of color.
1. More than a dozen states have no minimum age for
trying children as adults. What is the minimum age
in your state? What do you think it should be?
2. Can children as young as 10 or 12 be tried fairly in an
adult court? Why or why not?
1. What factors contribute to the disproportionate sentencing of children of color?
2. What policies or practicies would you change to address this problem?
3. What challenges do juveniles face in adult court?
Imprisoning Children with Adults
As thousands of children have been transferred to adult
courts for criminal prosecution, growing numbers of kids
have been automatically placed in adult jails and prisons.
Jailing children with
adults puts young
people at great risk.
Children are five
times more likely to
be sexually assaulted in adult
prisons than in juvenile facilities.
Ashley Jones was sentenced to die in prison
for a crime when she was just 14 years old.
Federal law mandates that children be housed separately
from adults. As a result, prison officials often place youth
in solitary confinement, which can lead to severe depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems.
1. Joe Sullivan was arrested at age 13, prosecuted as an
adult, and sent to an adult prison in Florida. What
happened to Joe in prison? What should have been
done differently in his case?
2. How does being housed with adults in an adult jail
or prison impact a teenager? How does it impact kids
with mental illness?
3. What does the story of Ian Manuel tell you about the
dangers of putting children in solitary confinement?
Children housed in
an adult jail or
prison are also
much more likely to
Young Children Sentenced to Die in Prison
commit
suicide
than those in juve- Condemned children share childhoods of neglect and
nile facilities.
abuse. Most of the kids who have been sentenced to die
in prison for crimes at 13 or 14 come from violent and
dysfunctional backgrounds. They have been physically or
Children from poor families are unable to get legal help.
In many of the cases EJI identified, appointed trial and
appellate lawyers failed to challenge the excessive sentences imposed on their teenaged clients. Children who
cannot afford competent counsel face a dramatically escalated risk of being sentenced to die in prison.
George Stinney, 14, was the youngest person executed in the
United States in the 20th century.
Challenging Excessive Punishment of Children
EJI has challenged excessive punishments imposed on
children, including the death penalty, life imprisonment
without parole, and “virtual life” sentences that deny
children any meaningful opportunity for release.
In 2005, the United States Supreme Court declared in
Roper v. Simmons that it is unconstitutional to execute
children. Before that ruling, 365 children had been executed in the United States, including 22 since 1985.
1. Why is competent counsel important in these cases? 1. What reasons did the Supreme Court give in Roper
for finding that the death penalty for juveniles vio2. Why are children who cannot afford a lawyer more
lates
the Constitution?
likely to be sentenced to die in prison?
3. What should a competent lawyer do when she is rep- 2. What evidence did the Court use in concluding that
children are different from adults?
resenting a child who faces a life-without-parole sentence?
After the Court banned the death penalty for children,
Children have been sentenced to die in prison for EJI focused on children who had been sentenced to imcrimes without fatalities. Of the cases EJI identified, six prisonment until death through life-without-parole senwere sentenced to die in prison for crimes in which no tences.
one was killed. All of these kids are children of color.
1. Is it constitutional now to sentence children to die in
prison for non-homicide crimes?
2. Why do you think only children of color have been
sentenced to life in prison without parole for nonhomicide crimes at age 13 or 14?
In 2009, EJI attorneys went to the United States Supreme
Court and argued for a constitutional ban on sentencing
children to die in prison.
On May 17, 2010, the Court issued a groundbreaking ruling in Graham v. Florida barring life-without-parole sentences for juveniles convicted of non-homicide offenses.